Hey everyone,
I would like all of you avid readers to vote for the poll. That's right, there is a poll up on my profile page regarding this story. There are three options as to what you want to happen.
Number one is that Percy becomes a minor character in the story, but is partnered with Artemis. I MUST REMIND YOU SHOULD THIS OPTION BE CHOSEN, PERCY WILL NOT APPEAR IN MOST OF THE STORIES. HE WILL FADE INTO THE BACKGROUND AND WILL NOT BE MENTIONED AS OFTEN. HE WILL PROBABLY APPEAR AS MUCH AS ARIADNE IN THE TITAN'S CURSE. JUST SEEN WALKING HAND-IN-HAND WITH ARTEMIS. THIS IS A FAIR WARNING.
Number two is that Percy stays a major character in the story, but is attracted to Artemis (and vice-versa); however they do not pair up simply because Artemis and Percy do not want to cause any trouble. I KNOW CAPS MAKES IT LOOK LIKE I'M ANGRY, BUT I'M NOT. THIS ONE WILL ALLOW ME TO REALLY FOCUS ON ANOTHER PAIRING THAT NONE OF YOU WILL HAVE CONTROL OVER. SUFFICE IT TO SAY, I REALLY LIKE THIS OPTION, THOUGH IN THE END IT IS YOUR CHOICE.
Number three is that Percy stays a major character in the story and will not like Artemis, but rather a different character of your choice in another poll. THIS ONE MAY BE A LITTLE DIFFICULT CONSIDERING PERCY HAS SPENT THOUSANDS OF YEARS ON GAEA TO FIND SOME RANDOM GIRL BORN IN THE 2000s TO BE ATTRACTED TO. PLUS, IT MAKES MY TIME WITH THE OTHER MAJOR PAIRING CONFLICT HARDER.
Either way, vote vote vote! Vote, vote, vote!
PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL NOT GIVE PERCY GODHOOD, OLYMPIAN GODHOOD, AS ONE OR TWO PEOPLE HAVE SUGGESTED. THAT WOULD MAKE THIS SERIES COMPLETELY UNREALISTIC AND STUPID. I AM NOT ANGRY, JUST TRYING TO GET THE ATTENTION OF THOSE WHO DON'T USUALLY READ AUTHOR'S NOTES. PERCY WILL NOT HAVE DONE ANYTHING THAT THE GODS ARE INDEBTED TO IN THE FIRST TWO STORIES (Argonauts and Trojan/Punic Wars). THAT IS MY FINAL WORD (or two words): NO GODHOOD.
Just a note about copying and pasting author's notes...in the past, I have had readers who did not read the author's notes until later chapters. I just want to keep reminding. If you have already seen the author's notes, you can just skip them and go straight to reading the story. Thank you.
With best regards,
SharkAttack719
Chapter 14
Percy Can't See
Relief couldn't have been more evident amongst the Argonauts.
Joyous times these were for the men and women, most being on this epic voyage for two years. The day after passing through Scylla and Charybdis marked the second anniversary of the departure from the beach of Iolcus.
It was the day after the anniversary when they reentered the Sea of Kronos, the sea that lay between Ausonia and Greece.
The only thing that was keeping the Argonauts going was their strength, though they knew hunger and thirst would consume them soon. Among the most needy were the main rowers, the ones who spent their most energy. It had always been a fear of the Argonauts that one day they would run out of food and water to eat and drink. It had happened once, it was beginning once again.
Weeks had passed, Hades, a full month had passed since they last raided an barbarian encampment. Their lack of food almost meant that the least needy ones, people who rarely spent their time and energy to help keep the ship going got less food. Percy was glad to say the least when he got fed at least something more than stale bread and hare meat that wasn't cooked completely.
He and Atalanta had collected a lot of animal meats for the group, but unfortunately, raw meats didn't last very long so the meats had sort of dropped off ever since they paddled back down the Eridanus.
The most important thing, though, was that they were crossing the Sea of Kronos right at that moment. They were about to reach home. At least, according to the maps and the overexcited crew of the Argo.
Percy's mind still rattled with doubt, though. He had surely been confident telling Ancaeus that Hera, Athena and Poseidon would have their backs. He wasn't, however, confident in his own words.
He had been plagued with the doubt that had been eating away at him for so long. What would the Argonauts think if they were pushed down to Libya? Would they be angry? Would they be frustrated? Would they finally feel so helplessly lost that they had no wish to continue on, that the Argonauts would split to find their own ways back home? Once Zeus pushed them to a place, Percy was certain the King of the Gods would endure what he sent them there for before allowing them to arrive back in Greece.
That wouldn't be such a problem if Percy had loyal friends. Atalanta and Theseus were close to Percy, even at times feeling as close as siblings... but in truth, they were different. They weren't his age and they couldn't relate to the same things.
Years of being alone had begun to affect the demigod. He'd endured others' deaths, seen suffering, the scarred images burned into his brain, and had no friends his age. He got rather lonely at times when he stared out at the ocean. Sometimes he'd fantasized that he had two friends next to him, talking happily with him, as if they had been friends since they were born. Those were just hallucinations.
"Stress," Percy muttered. "I'm stressing out right now."
At least he had people who cared about him more than a broomstick. Jason was one, Medea quickly becoming that of an older sister along with Atalanta and Theseus (though he was more of a brother than a sister; some might confuse themselves about that) plus Periclymenus, Argus, the Boreads and the Dioscuri. Orpheus and Peleus sort of, though they paid far less attention to him than the others.
During the party, where wine had somehow sustained itself on the ship (Percy thought it was probably one of Dionysus' kids), Percy got up and walked above deck, not feeling in the right place with the older men. Like he said, he didn't fit in with them; he was far too young.
He wasn't bothered by the fact that Jason and Medea's love-filled cries echoed down the hallway as he passed through that deck. It was getting normal now, the two apparently going at it for most of the day. It wasn't that he wanted to hear those things, but the news just spread to him like wildfire.
In the end, what mattered most to Percy was that the two at least had each other to accompany themselves with. He bet even Theseus and Atalanta were having a decent time down there, even after Theseus' disheartened mood from a few days past.
Percy figured it had to do with Athena or something. Maybe he found out about something that she did? He had infinite guesses... well, maybe not infinite but as many as there were possible.
Why did he immediately affiliate Athena? Well, for one, Theseus had admitted to having a crush on the goddess, even if slight. Second... well, there wasn't a second other than the fact that he knew Theseus quite well. He had talked to Theseus everyday, even longer than most, other than Atalanta...
Percy admitted to thinking there was something going on between them, but he was too afraid to ask what was really happening regarding him. If he got rejected by Atalanta, good for him. Either way, Percy felt a little bitter.
He clambered onto the top deck with a bottle in his hand, a bottle of wine. He was young, far too young to drink the stuff, but he figured he'd try it, just to see what it was like. Barely a sip and he recoiled at the taste. It was sweet yet bitter at the same time. A weird combination.
Then he frowned and tried again. By the time Selene was high up in the sky, dazzling even more beautifully than Helios, the wine bottle was empty and Percy was puking into the ocean. He felt bad that he was throwing up his waste into the ocean waters his father controlled, but the alcohol had really gotten to him. His throat was burning from chugging the last half of the bottle in one go and the puking. His head spun and he felt ready to pass out. But he didn't.
He spent the until dawn stumbling about the empty deck, everyone finally resting altogether. He mumbled incoherent words in the moonlight, the moon turning a pale blue. It looked kind of—It reflected kind of a pale face of someone, as if they were worried about him. He cast the thought away just as he tripped over his own foot and slammed into the deck, hard.
When dawn cracked, and the first person to come onto the top deck for the day appeared, Percy was already lying half-unconscious against the mast of the largest sail. The person rushed over to him and a soft, feminine voice reached his ears. "Percy! There you are! You didn't come back to our room last night! What happened?"
He never got to answer her question, though, as darkness consumed him and he descended into the land of Morpheus.
The dream was rather awkward, seemingly a moment of the near future. Recent dreams he had all related to the past of some sort, either him watching the heroes of the past era or Heracles completing his latests feats. This one came back to Atlas' mountain far out at the western edges of the world.
He was suddenly thrust into a body and he felt that he was running, the moon high in the sky. Sure enough, when he looked down, his legs were pounding hard against the dusty sand of the seeming desert around it and his arms were swinging forward and backwards.
He heard a shout from behind him and wanted to turn around to look. The cry had definitely called his name, Percy. But this dream-Percy didn't want to turn around. He bolted straight up the side of the mountain, clinging onto thin, rocky ledges as he climbed the side of the mountain. He saw the winding path that twirled around like a serpent up the side of the mountain, but he wanted to get to the top as fast as he could, so he skipped running along the path and tried cutting through instead. He didn't arrive any faster than he would have running and now he had cuts and scrapes all over him from clambering about the sharp, jagged rocks.
When he reached the top of the mountain, he crept through the forest. Then something like the opposite of nostalgia hit him, though not like a feeling of dread. It was just neutral, a place he remembered from a dream a couple years ago. He didn't particularly hate the place, but he didn't like it either.
As he walked closer to the spot he had been at in the previous dream, a loud voice began screaming. "Traitor! You lied to my face, to your sisters' faces! I shall cast away your immortality forever! You shall grow old and die remembering that no one cared about you. He left didn't he, pretended that he would take you. Well, Zoë, you get what you deserve!"
"Father! Please, no!" an anguished voice cried out. She sounded so broken, Percy had the odd feeling of running up to her and comforting her.
Percy climbed up onto a tree and watched as the thirteen-year-old-looking girl begged on her knees at the Titan's foot.
"I didn't honestly help him!" she begged. "I just... I—"
"Don't even try to cover up for what you have done," the Titan sneered. His anger seemed to remove all signs of pain from holding up the sky. Those dark, volcanic eyes looked like they were about to explode into blazes of lava and fire. He gave his daughter a cold look. "Hesperides!"
Soft, enchanting voices began singing, approaching as they moved closer. Percy had a feeling that they could only be summoned by their father, the only other time they emerged being that to watch Helios set.
Out of the darkness appeared four lovely ladies who looked exactly like Zoë, except all of different ages. Zoë appeared to be the youngest, even if the legend said they were born at the same time. They looked at Zoë in distaste as they passed her, regarding their father with respect.
"Father," they chorused, bowing at the Titan under the sky.
"Finish the rituals," he said glowering. "Disown Zoë and make sure she gets the message that she is not welcome back here. She will never return. It will be the end for her."
Cruel smiles slowly appeared on the Hesperides' faces as Percy realized what had happened. He, the one who Zoë supposedly helped, was Heracles. Heracles had said he would marry her, he had promised he would come back for her. Apparently coming back could be twisted around to mean, I'll come back for you so that you can see me one last time before I disappear from your life forever.
Anger screamed in his ears and he prayed to his father that Heracles' journeys would get tougher and tougher, especially on water.
The four other Hesperides raised their hands and began chanting in an ancient language, in something Percy couldn't understand. Frightened, he realized they were speaking in the ancient tongue of magic. Zoë looked up at her sisters in horror, tears welling in her eyes. Percy was admittedly shocked seeing as she was the daughter of Atlas, who was the Titan of strength.
A bright glow that had surrounded Zoë previously began fading as the Hesperides chanted, getting louder and louder. After watching for what seemed to be minutes, the glow that represented Zoë's immortality faded and she looked weary, scared and heartbroken.
A growl escaped out of Atlas' mouth before Zoë, weeping, turned around and ran away, into the forest Percy was still in. Breaking out of "spectator mode," he gave chase to her.
"Zoë! Stop!" Percy urged, trying to keep his voice down.
Startled, she whirled her head around and stumbled when she saw him running after her. She kept wide eyes pointed at him, her running breaking into a back pedal. Percy stopped running and approached her as gently as he could.
"I'm not here to harm you," he felt himself saying, though in this dream he felt much more tired than he was now. His chest was heaving from running, his throat dry from thirst. "I heard what happened with Herac—"
"Don't speak of his name!" she growled, her eyes blazing with anger and betrayal. "Who are you and what do you want with me?"
"I'm Perseus but I prefer to be called Percy because I'll never live up to the first Perseus," he explained soothingly. "Now, I saw what just happened."
"Spying I assume," she snapped. "Maybe watching for when I'm alone so he can surprise me and rape me." She looked like she was trying to be confident but her shaky voice ruined the attempted affect.
Percy opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly the dream melted away from him and three angry, raspy voices screamed at him. "How dare you look into the future without the authority!"
Their voices were so horrible that Percy's ears almost felt as if they were bleeding. He thought he felt himself clutch his ears and thought he screamed. But he saw nothing, as if it were a ghostly feeling that was touching him.
"Punish!" said one. "He needs to be punished, looking into the future without permission."
"Yes," said another. "He is not an oracle, not a seer, does not have the power of the prophecy. Punishment must be placed upon him."
Pain shot up his spine as if something had whipped him. Then like fire, it spread throughout his body. He felt as if poison had been injected into his veins, a poison so strong yet controlled that it would deliver him the worst pain that anyone would ever feel without death resulting. He was screaming, a bloodcurdling scream, he was sure of it. There was absolutely nothing he could do.
The voices had to be the Fates. Who else would not want the future to be seen unless he or she was an oracle or seer, especially by a mere mortal?
The pain suddenly grew more intense, as if Percy was being pierced by a hundred uncooled knives. He felt as though he was being cauterized. His screams only grew louder until the point when he felt as though the Fates were going to kill him in his sleep for accessing forbidden memories of the future.
The images of Zoë and her being exiled from her family seemed to be disappearing as the pain continued growing.
In that very final moment, the moment he thought he was going to die, the moment he wished he had died as the pain was far too much for him, it suddenly uplifted. A proud, loud voice boomed, "STOP!"
The pain didn't leave Percy's body, but he was suddenly aware that it was no longer excruciatingly hot.
"I ordered Morpheus to show him that," the voice said.
"What?" one of the Fates said seemingly baffled.
"Leave him alone! I gave that order!"
Silence ensued, but after a little while, Percy's dream-body still feeling like it had been embedded with white-hot daggers, a hand fell on top of his chest. "This pain has taken its toll on your actual body, but I can heal most of it. You'll just feel sore."
Percy tried speaking but all he could do was mumble.
"I'm sorry for getting you into this trouble," he said. "It was a favor to a friend of mine. My friend said that I needed to show you a glimpse of the future so you would know what is coming. Yes, you will be sent to the edge of the western world, Percy. Be aware. And don't forget, you can always sacrifice to the gods. Push a part of your meal into any campfire after naming a couple of gods in prayer."
"Apollo?" Percy asked, having a feeling the god was the feeling why he felt so much pain.
"I'm sorry, Percy."
Before the dream vanished and Percy's eyes shot open.
"Oh thank the gods!" Atalanta cried, hugging Percy tightly. He felt wet tears drop onto him and tried hugging Atalanta back. Then pain shot up his back when he moved. He yelled, "OW!" before groaning and lying back safely onto the hammock.
Percy blinked a few times before regarding all those standing above him. Theseus, Atalanta, Jason, Medea, Periclymenus and the Boreads were directly above him, a couple of others trying to look over the front row at him.
They all looked white-faced and panicked. Medea even had red eyes, though tears had stopped leaking from her eyes. Theseus even looked scared.
"What happened, Percy?" asked Jason worriedly. "Atalanta woke up in the morning and found you passing out. We assumed that you stole alcohol, so we then put you safely in this hammock. Sometime about twenty minutes ago, you started screaming your head off. It was... indescribable. You wouldn't stop until about two minutes ago, but when we tried prodding you awake, you started screaming again, as if it hurt you. We thought it safe not to touch you, but some of the crew thought it was Zeus punishing us by killing you. We... we..."
"So it wasn't just a dream," Percy muttered.
"What?"
"It... it was just a dream. Nothing to worry about," he lied. "It was terrible, though."
"Why were you screaming, and why are you hurting?" asked Atalanta.
"Last night, I fell down the stairs," Percy concocted. "I hit my head a few times and injured my arms, both of them. I think the alcohol really got to me, so I went back up before falling back down again."
He hoped his lies weren't too blatant.
"Some good news, though, Percy," Zetes said. "Jason and Medea are engaged. Ancaeus said we were being blown to the land of the Phaeacians, so we plan to have the wedding there and invite the king to the feast. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Then we get to go back to Greece, right?"
Percy's spirits fell but he couldn't let the others know... yet. He didn't want to ruin the wedding mood. "Yeah."
Jason smiled and looked down to Percy. "That's great. Just rest up, though don't fall asleep. Maybe you can write what happened in your little journal?"
"Percy can write?" Theseus asked astonished.
Atalanta nodded. "I found this roll of papyrus in Percy's drawer. This has to be his writing because I have checked it every day and it continues growing. It's so cool. It has detailed accounts about almost everything he is thinking of. I can read, just barely, but I can tell he talks most about thoughts about others rather than himself." She gave Percy a pointed look.
He chuckled painfully. "I guess so."
"Well, either way, have fun with it," Jason said, snatching the papyrus from Atalanta's grasp and giving it to Percy. "We'll come down to check on you soon. Maybe you'll feel better once we have landed in the land of the Phaeacians. That way you won't feel too bad that you have to miss our wedding."
"Maybe."
Jason smiled and led Medea out of the room. Slowly, everyone started filing out of the room orderly. Atalanta was the last one to leave. She gave him a sly smile, though her eyes were still red from crying. "Don't lie about falling down the steps. It has to do with your dream. If you're hurting that much, you'd have bruises. Considering you don't have any... It's a little suspicious. And keep working on those abs, Percy. I want a good girlfriend for my little brother."
Percy looked down, ignoring the jolt of pain in his neck. He realized that he had no shirt on and that his abs were beginning to define themselves. Looking up at Atalanta with an embarrassed look on his face, he called after her, though with laboring difficulty, "I'm not your little brother."
She stopped at the door and turned around. "You might as well be," she replied softly before turning and walking out the door.
"Hold your ground," Percy said to the men behind him. He held his own sword up, ready to defend himself against the surrounding Colchians. They were Aeëtes men, the second fleet that had launched apparently. They had followed the Argo's original path, through the Symplegades and into the Northern Mediterranean. After getting lost on Greece's west coast, they decided to stay here rather than face Aeëtes' wrath. Now, they said, at least they would have Medea and Jason for revenge, to take the Golden Fleece back to Colchis where it "belongs."
More liked where it belong, thought Percy.
"Give us Jason, Medea and the Golden Fleece," the general ordered. "Only then will we leave you alone."
"You'll have to take them from us," Theseus growled.
The general of the Colchian army sneered. "We have waited for your answer for days. Should you refuse the next time we ask you, you will be dead before you can even blink."
"Hold your ground," Percy urged.
"Now, give us Jason, Medea and the Golden Fleece, and we will—"
"Take your stupid offer and go somewhere else!" Theseus snapped.
"Hold your ground!" Percy shouted.
With a tiny flick of a finger, the Colchian army surged forward, ready to annihilate the weary Argonauts, who had just been setting up camp all day. Unfortunately for the Colchians, Percy knew exactly what was coming and pointed at them.
"Hold your ground!" Percy shouted once again.
A wave from behind the Argonauts rose up and washed over the Argonauts, the water spreading well across the massive Colchian army. The water slammed into the Colchian army, sending the first few rows of warriors into a scattering panic. Percy concentrated further and pushed the Colchians back until they stood (or lay) twice as far from the Argonauts as before. There were no casualties.
Suddenly, a horn blasted into the air.
"Royal horn!" Theseus shouted, and Percy made the water recede.
The Colchians, who had been stunned by the wave, watched closely as a chariot appeared, coming down from the palace. It looked royal, pulled by well-groomed horses and decorated with fancy jewels. Percy saw Medea standing in the chariot looking relieved. He immediately knew things had gone all right with the king and queen, the other two who were standing in the chariot. It looked like a tight fit, but they managed.
As soon as the chariot stopped, Medea got off and bowed to the king. The Argonauts followed suit.
The king briefly smiled at them before turning to the Colchians, who looked tiny in the distance. "Colchians, army of the mighty king Aeëtes. I ask you to leave."
The Colchians were still in stunned silence.
The king made his way over to the Argonauts and took each of their soppy, wet hands in a greeting. He didn't seem to mind, though, probably because he heard and saw the wave spray over the Argonauts.
Percy was the last one to leave the beach. He saw the Colchians depart dejected. He didn't go to the palace until he saw each and every Colchian disappear to the north, until he couldn't see any one of them again. Then he slowly walked toward the palace, just in case they were about to charge the palace. Nothing happened, but for the rest of that night, he kept his eyes out.
It wasn't long before Jason and Medea announced to the king, whose name was Alcinous, that they were planning to get married and wished to invite him and the royal family to it. Surprised and shocked, Alcinous stayed speechless. His wife, Queen Arete, spoke for him and graciously accepted it.
The royal family outdid themselves once again, creating a magnificent ceremony and dance in which lasted a span over almost two weeks. It was extremely long and painful, but seeing Jason looking happy made Percy happy. One day maybe Percy would get a wife of some sort and marry her. That would be nice, to have a wife and children.
"I hope that they keep their promises," the voice of an old lady said next to him. "I told him that if he ever betrays her, he will lose my favor."
Percy took a wild guess. "Hera?"
"Hello, Perseus."
"Uh...hi."
She smiled at me before turning back to the dance floor where Jason and Medea were having a solo dance, everyone to watch them as they dance.
"You wish for a nice marriage, too?" was the sudden question.
"How did you know?"
"I am the Queen of the Gods, Percy. I know more than you would think."
"Well...yes. I hope for a nice wedding someday. I want to find a girl, a woman I like and marry her. Maybe the festivities won't be as grand as this one, but something special."
A wistful smile spread across the goddess' face. "You have to make sure you really know who you want to marry, my boy. Not everyone is what they seem like at first, not everyone shows what you truly want after marriage. Think of my husband. He has cheated on me more times than I can keep track of. Some of them I discover much too late, so late that he's had at least half a dozen more affairs since then. For example, Jason may have married Medea, but does he really love her?"
"I hope so," Percy replied.
"Elpis remains trapped in Pandora's pithos," Hera said. "But you can always wish for things to happen, yes. It doesn't mean they will always come true. Your day will come, Perseus. You must wait."
"Yes, Lady Hera."
"All right. I guess I will be seeing you another time then, Percy. And be prepared. Everything is about to change."
She turned and walked out of the room in the palace. Percy could almost sense her leaving, a royal, godly presence gone.
There were so many warnings as to what was happening next that Percy had absolutely no doubt as to where they were going next. It was quite blatantly obvious.
Libya. They were going to be blown to Libya.
Hey everyone,
Hope you enjoy this chapter.
I apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above and if any historical facts are actually wrong. I have spent my time looking through different websites, and even a couple of books, but the story that will continue may have incorrect historical info. Still, I believe it just adds to the effect.
With best regards,
SharkAttack719